Apparatus for bending tubes



July 22, 1958 F. A. FASANO APPARATUS FOR BENDING TUBES Filed Jan. 9. 1956 INVENTOR. FRED A. FASANO TTORNEY United States PatentO 2,844,058 APPARATUS FOR BENDINC TUBES Fred A. Fasano, New York, N. Y. Application January 9, 1956, Serial No. 558,081 15 Claims. (21. 81-15) This invention relates to apparatus for bending tubes.

Heretofore, tubes have been bent by inserting the tube into a wire coil and then bending the coil so as to bend the tube therewith. The trouble with such prior apparatus has been that it was 'diflicult to remove the bent tube from the coil when making sharp bends. Also, often such tubes when bent with a sharp corner are flattened somewhat, or become out of round. I

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for bending tubes which shall be easy to remove from the bent tube and which will permit bending sharp corners without flattening the tube or causing the tube to lose its round shape.

The apparatus embodying the invention has the further advantage that it is easy to handle and manipulate during the bending operation.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a strong and durable tube bending apparatus which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and which shall yet be practical and eflicient to a high degree.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown various illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a bending apparatus embodying the invention, with parts broken away and in cross-section;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of one end of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fi 1, but illustrating a modified apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the clamp shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 illustrates a piece of tube bent with the apparatus embodying the invention; and

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating another modified construction.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, 10 designates apparatus embodying the invention for bending a tube 11. The tube 11 may be a pipe or part of a beer distributing system, or any other tube to be bent.

The apparatus 10 comprises an elongated sleeve 12 of synthetic plastic or rubber. The sleeve 12 should be flexible and resilient so that it may be bent, and will tend to resume its former straight shape after release. The sleeve 12 may have elongted wires 13 imbedded therein; The wires 13 are preferably equiangularly spaced apart. The sleeve 12 is formed with a longitudinal split 14 and at each end with an inclined end edge 16 communicating 2,844,058 Patented July 22, 1958 2 with a V-shaped notch 17. The split or slit 14 is radial, and opposite edges of the sleeve 12 abut. The apex '18 of each notch 17 is at the slit 14. The purpose of the notch 17 and the inclined cut 16 is to facilitate insertion of the tube 11 into the bending sleeve 12 through said notch.

To insert the tube 11, the tube is held at an angle to sleeve 12 and moved into the notch 17 and pushed to open up the split 14. Tube 11 is then moved through the slit into the sleeve. After the tube 11 is within the sleeve 12, the latter may be bent by hand or by the aid of any suitable means such as pliers 40 and pipe 50 described hereinafter, to form a bent piece of tube, designated at 11a in Fig. 7.

In Fig. 4 there is shown apparatus 10a including a modified form of sleeve for bending a tube 11. The apparatus 10a comprises a sleeve 30 which is likewise made of synthetic plastic, rubber or rubber-like material. The sleeve 30 is formed with a helical split 31 extending from end to end. The split 31 is radial and may extend through an angle of from one end to the other. Embedded within the sleeve 30 are wires 33 equally spaced apart and also helically shaped similar to the shape of the helical split 31. The edges of sleeve 30 at split 31 abut one another. The ends of the sleeve 30 are cut similarly to the end of the sleeve. 7

To facilitate bending of the sleeve 12 or 30, there is provided the clamped pliers 40. The pliers 40 comprises a pair of hinged parts 41 and 42 hinged together on a hinge pin 43. The parts41 and 42 have substantially semi-circular portions 41a and 42a extending from the hinge pin 43 and adapted to surround and clamp the sleeve.

Extending from the portions 41a and 42a are handle portions 411; and 42b Hinged to the outer end of one of the handle portions as by pivot pin 45, is a link 46 adapted to engage the other handle portion. Said other handle portion is formed with rack teeth 47 to be engaged by the link 46.

Thus, the pliers may be held in clamped position by the link 46. To release the clamp the handles are squeezed together and the link swung out. Thus, when the pliers are applied to an intermediate portion of the tube 30, the pliers may be held in clamped position with one hand, the other hand may manipulate a bending pipe 50, shown in Fig. 4.

The pipe 50 has an outwardly flaring mouth 51. The flared end of the pipe may be moved onto one end of the sleeve 30, and said pipe may then be held with one hand while the other hand grasps the pliers 40. The pliers 40 and the pipe 50 may then be manipulated to bend the tube 11. It will be noted that after the tube 11 is bent, the pliers 40 may be removed and the pipe 50 also removed. Thereafter, it is easy to peel off the sleeve 30, since the bent tube 11a may pass through the split 31. In other words, the sleeve 30 opens up at the split so that it can be pulled off the bent tube 11a. It is also of course true that the sleeve 12 may likewise be peeled or pulled oif the bent tube 11a because the split 14 may open up for this purpose.

The sleeves 12 and 30 may have reinforcement of fabric such as nylon, canvas or linen embedded therein. As shown in Fig. 8, the fabric reinforcement may be in two layers 60, 61 on opposite sides of wires 33.

The fact that the split 31 in sleeve 30 is helical and not straight, ensures against the tube 11 accidentally slipping out of the sleeve. Also, if the sleeve is too loose on tube 1 11, the ends of sleeve 30 may be twisted in opposite directions to tighten the sleeve on the tube before bending.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A device for bending a tube comprising a sleeve of resilient rubber-like material formed with a longitudinal, radial split, the edges of the sleeve at the split being in abutting relation.

2. The combination of claim 1, said split being helical end to end.

3. The combination of claim 2, the ends of the sleeve each having an edge inclined to the axis of the sleeve and said sleeve being formed at each end with a notch, the apex of each notch being at said split.

4. The combination of claim 1, in combination with wires embedded in the sleeve and parallel to said split.

5. The combination of claim 2, in combination with wires embedded in said sleeve and parallel to said split.

6. A device for bending tubes comprising a sleeve of rubber-like material formed with a single, longitudinal split from end to end and having wires embedded therein extending from end to end.

7. The combination of claim 6, and fabric reinforcing embedded in said sleeve.

8. The combination of claim 7, said fabric being disposed on opposite sides of said wires.

9. The combination of claim 6, said split being helical and said wires being helical and parallel to said split.

10. The combination of claim 9, in combination with two layers of fabric embedded in the sleeve and disposed on opposite sides of said wires.

11. The combination of claim 9, said sleeve having at each end a notch, the apex of which is at said split.

12. The combination of claim 10, said sleeve having at each end, an edge inclined to the axis of the sleeve, and a notch, the apex of which is at said split.

13. Apparatus for bending metal tubes comprising a sleeve of rubber-like material formed with a slit from end to end, a clamp comprising a pair of interpivoted members, each member having a portion engaging a portion of the sleeve transversely, and handles extending from said clamp member portions, whereby said clamp may grip the sleeve While one end of the sleeve is bent for bending a tube in the sleeve.

14. The combination of claim 13, in combination with a pipe receiving one end of the sleeve for bending the sleeve with a tube therein while the clamp is clamped to the sleeve.

15. A device for "bending a tube comprising a sleeve of resilient, rubber-like material formed with a single, longitudinal split from end to end, said sleeve being formed at each end of the split with a notch the apex 0 which is at the split.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 64,904 Clinchers May 21, 1867 174,609 Wright Mar. 7, 1876 423,544 Vanderman Mar. 18, 1890 425,395 Wingate et a1 Apr. 8, 1890 610,726 Ruete Sept. 13, 1898 620,227 Condon Mar. 18, 1899 831,264 Charnock Sept. 18, 1906 1,388,744 Morrisey Aug. 23, 1921 2,670,015 Reynolds Feb. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,587 Great Britain 1915 667,027 Germany Nov. 3, 1938 

